Abstract
This paper outlines what certification is, what its perceived benefits to the employees are and why managements try and get their staff certified in the first place. It also provides some details of the commonly pursued certifications like the CMA, the CPA, CIA, etc and gives some information on the origin, advantages and history of the organization behind these programs. Also, an attempt is made to define quality so that how the concept of certification relates to that of quality of management can be better understood. Some recent examples of research are also provided so that one can better understand what the issues behind certification are in general and how certifications contribute to improvement of quality of management in particular. The paper in essence argues that certification is both necessary and an essential part of human resource development with whose aid, the organization can add value and improve profitability. By better equipping its employees with knowledge of best practices and superior skill-sets, management can improve higher employee productivity, lower its costs, and enable better standardization of employee work skills.
Defining Certification
Certification has been defined by various sources in various ways. The Princeton University defines “certification as the act of certifying or bestowing a franchise on, documentation (confirmation of some fact or statement as being true by means of document as evidence), a providing of credentials or attestation of the truth of facts, or an authentication of something or someone”. Other web sources define the same differently. Thus, some define certification as the “procedure by which a third party gives written assurance that a product, process, or service conforms to specific requirements” (www.gdrc.org/uem/ait-terms.html). Among research scholars too, there are differences in the way certification is defined. Thus, Gilley and Galbraith (1986: 6) have defined certification as “the process by which a professional organization or an independent external agency recognizes the competence of individual practitioners”. Again, Bratton & Hildebrand (1980: 9), Mason (1984: 3685), and McCue (2003: 3224) have all observed “certification is a voluntary achieved standard of excellence for an individual practitioner recognized by a peer group”. In their article, Bratton and Hildebrand (1980) also distinguish between professional certification and teacher education certification, in their attempt to clarify doubts regarding certifications. But certifications, whatever their type, are generally regarded as voluntary by nature (Parker and Smith 2004). The National Organization for Competency Assurance (NOCA) defines certification as “a process by which a non-governmental agency or association grants recognition of competence to an individual who has met predetermined qualifications specified by that agency or association”. In McCue (2003: 3224), Schoon and Smith have observed, “…Certification is thought of as a means of promoting achievement within a discipline”. Thomas (www.entrepreneur.com, 2006) also observes that “certification is not a property right to practice a profession; instead, it is a voluntarily achieved standard of excellence for an individual”.
The Need for Certifications
According to Flarey (2000: 43-45), certification is “a voluntary process, the purpose of which is to provide professional recognition of knowledge, skills, and clinical practice”. Byrne, Valentine and Carter (2004: 825-835) observed from a review of the literature including among others, Coleman et al (839-849), Fetzer (240-244), Niebuhr (20-24), Faherty (29-31), Nielsen et al (99-102), and, Mee and Carey (45-47), that the ”benefits of certification included a broader range of job opportunities, challenge, a commitment to professionalism, greater earning potential and eligibility for third-party reimbursement, an increased job satisfaction, personal achievement and satisfaction, professional obligation, professional prestige or status, and validation of knowledge”. Byrne, Valentine and Carter also recount a research conducted by a committee constituted by the Certification Board of Perioperative Nursing (CBPN), which conducted surveys among nurses for assessing the perceived value of certification among them. The research identified two types of rewards that motivated the nurses in seeking certification, namely, intrinsic and extrinsic rewards. The list of such rewards of certification as found out from the study is provided in Table 1 below.
Table 1: Intrinsic and Extrinsic Rewards of Certification
While the above-perceived values are actually related to the field of nursing, yet, the values of certification as obtained through the research, as also the observations of the various authors are pointers to the general value of certifications as perceived by those opting for the same. However, in other fields of work also, certifications have come to be regarded as essential not only by those undergoing certification but also the organizations in which those individuals are employed. In a November 2006 sponsored study (Value of Certification: Team Certification and Organizational Performance, November 2006) by Microsoft Corporation, on the impact of certification in the workplace, research firm IDC concluded that team performances improved with each team member that was certified. In turn the organizational performance in many IT fields was found to be directly influenced by the team skills. The more there were Microsoft certified team members, the better the team performed. In fact, top performing teams were observed to consist of as much as 40 to 55 percent certified members. Additionally, a survey also found that as much as 75 percent of managerial staff thought that certifications could improve team performances, while 66 percent believed that such certifications could help improve IT support services.
The California Water Environment Association observes on its website that “certification has found its way into almost every industry because it helps advance the profession, enables employers to evaluate potential new hires, helps analyze job performance, evaluate employees, select contractors, market services, and motivate employees to enhance their skills and knowledge. Additionally, certificate holders also stand to benefit since certification gives recognition of competency, shows their commitment to the profession, and helps with job advancement” (www.cwea.org). Truly, certification has been adopted by every industry. Quint Careers.Com reports that there are nearly 1,600 certifications available today. Certifications are available in numerous job fields. “Examples of job fields include Information Technology, Financial Management/Planning, Safety, Health Support, Human Resources, hospitality, Internal Auditing, Manufacturing, Training and Instructional Design, Automotive, Administrative Professionals, Project Management, Fitness Trainers, Real Estate and the emerging area known as Homeland Security” (Mason, 2009). Popular certifications need to be described to give a larger picture of the situation.
Well-known Certifications in Management, their Origin and Benefits
There are numerous certifications given by government bodies, educational bodies, private business enterprises, and charitable organizations. Since management is a vast subject, there are certifications in areas as wide as IT, Accounting, Finance, Project Management, Quality Management, etc. However, some certifications are regarded as prestigious and are awarded by some globally recognized bodies, which are given official recognition by managements of leading enterprises across the world. Additionally, leading universities of the US recognize some certifications. Government and non-government accreditation agencies also accredit certifications. The advantages of such voluntary professional certification programs is that they provide external competency validations, enable a standardization of employee competencies, and also ensure that certified employees have an added competitive edge in employment opportunity in the job market. Smith and Mansinghka (1999: 111-119) have observed well how certification programs in finance have proliferated over the past decades. Thus, in present time, numerous certification programs, whether in finance or any other subject, and whether nationally or globally, are offered by various agencies and bodies, both governmental and private. Thomas (1996: 275-296) observed that, “the shrinking globe calls for greater transportability of skill sets, as well as commonly accepted standards across national borders”. Perhaps the most popular such programs worldwide now are the Certified in Financial Management or CFM, and the Certified Management Accountant or CMA. Most common and popular certifications, their origins and benefits are detailed as follows:
Certificate of Public Accountants (CPA)
The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants or the AICPA awards this certificate. AICPA itself states on its website that the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) as also its predecessors have a historical origin dating prior to even 1887, when the American Association of Public Accountants or the AAPA was formed. Then in 1916, the AAPA became the Institute of Public Accountants and boasted a membership of 1,150. Its name was changed in 1971 to the American Institute of Accountants and again in 1977 became the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants or AICPA. Meanwhile, the American Society of Certified Public Accountants which was formed in 1921 and acted as a federation of state societies, got merged into the Institute in 1936 and, from that time onwards, the Institute restricted its future members to CPAs”.
Benefits of acquiring the CPA are also substantial. In fact, the New Jersey Chapter of the Institute of Certified Public Accountants lists major benefits of becoming a CPA as: job satisfaction, diverse career choices, creativity, challenge, and the rewards of work, job security, societal contributions, people involvement, secured finances, intellectual growth and prestige.
Certificate of Public Managers (CPM)
The CPM program is a nationally accredited management development program and targets managers in federal, state, and local governments as also managers of non-profit organizations. It is driven by the need to provide better services to the public at large and attempts to ensure superior performances and ethical practices from both public and private sector managers spanning non-profit organizations. The ultimate aim of the CPM is to develop state, local and government performances. The CPM program endows the certified professional with practical knowledge of best practices and management theory, and also makes them better leaders and managers of people, enterprises and processes. The program builds competencies in the professional managers so that they can perform their jobs well and thus ensure organizational success. Successful participants of the program get awarded the prestigious CPM certification.
The program was the result of an initial one developed in the 1970s by some Georgia educators and government officials, which ultimately lead to the formation of the National Certified Public Managers’ Consortium which now establishes accreditation standards and also ensures that Consortium standards are maintained by all member programs. Presently, the Consortium includes 28 accredited members comprising 25 states, the federal government, an active member for taking care of accreditation processes, and six associate members for developing programs. The CPM is nationally and internationally recognized (www.cpmconsortium.org).
CPM training is experiential based, and emphasizes small group activities and advocates balance between theory and practice. The course encompasses the entire filed of management. CPM benefits the non-profit agencies and the individual certificate holders. Thus, certified managers perform better and in turn the agency also performs well. Certified managers learn to save time and cost for their enterprise. They can function as better leaders. Certification also enables the assessment and comparison of the various managers in their work. The employees also get to know the latest trends and best practices in management, gain recognition and better salary and perks as a result of the certification.
Certificate of Management Accountants (CMA)
The Certified Management Accountant or CMA program is the management equivalent of the CPA which is solely for public accountants. This certification is awarded by the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA) and was instituted in 1972. Among other stated objectives, the IMA also encourages, through the CMA program, the continued professional development of management accountants. The IMA itself was founded in 1919.
In many companies, CMA certification contributes significantly towards employee career progression. However, the CMA certification is important for those seeking to move up the corporate accounting or financial ladder in companies, or when they are changing careers
Certified Financial Management or CFM
This program was also established by the Institute of Management Accounting (IMA) so as to provide knowledge and competence in financial management. Its only dissimilarity with the CMA is the Part II of the course where Corporate Financial Management replaces the financial accounting part. The Financial Management Association also approves the course.
Certified Internal Auditor or CIA
The Institute of Internal Auditors of the US conducts this program. The CIA designation is a globally accepted certification and is the standard by which individual competency and professionalism in internal auditing can be assessed. Candidates gain in education, knowledge, and important business application tools. CIA certification helps earn a prestigious professional qualification and also enables the employee acquire quality training in internal audit, gain a prestigious global qualification, become sought after by managements, and also become assured of career progression to the highest corporate level in an organization. Also, the companies employing such companies or those that sponsor such employees for the certification are able to have a well-qualified and knowledgeable staff, gain in competitive advantage, and also get the benefits of a cost effective training mechanism.
Quality in Management and Employee Certifications
Sallis and Hingley (1991: 3) have observed that, “… quality is similar in nature to truth and beauty”. Some view quality in terms of absolutes. Thus, Husserl (1969) called “quality an ideal with which there can be no compromise”. Numerous scholars have defined quality across the ages, but an exact definition has eluded all. Quality has been perceived to assume various features depending on the subject to which the same is related. ‘Quality is notoriously elusive of prescription, and no easier even to describe and discuss than deliver in practice’ (Gibson, 1986: 128-135) Some like Feigenbaum (1956: 307-321) have considered quality as value, while others like Levitt (1972) have viewed it as “conformance to specifications”. Again, the same has been variously defined as “conformance to requirements” (Crosby, 1979), “fitness for use” (Juran, 1970), and “meeting or exceeding customer expectations (Parasuraman, Zeithaml, and, Berry, 1985). More to the point in this paper, quality has been defined as “single most important force leading to economic growth of companies in international markets” (Feigenbaum, 1982: 22). The Webster’s’ dictionary defines quality as “the condition of being of such and such a sort as distinguished from others; nature or character relatively considered, as of goods; character; sort; rank”. The Council For Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) 2001defines quality thus: “Quality: Refers to “fitness for purpose”—meeting or conforming to generally accepted standards as defined by an accrediting or quality assurance body”. Doherty-Delorme and Shaker (2001: 8) define quality as “excellence”.
Helper and Levine (1995: 26-36) in their paper on Total Quality Management or TQM and its benefits, argue that one necessary step in promoting quality of management in the US is the “creation of nationally recognized certificates for employees’ quality skills”. They argue that such a step would help reduce training costs in as much as standardization due to certification on a large scale would result. Also, employers could easily compare the skills of individual employees. In their article, the authors also observe that certification was more widespread in Germany and Japan than in the US. One reason was that in those countries, the employee and trade unions create pressure on employees to train and obtain certifications in their own interests. While certification improves the employee prospects in the job market, skills developed in certification programs enhance the employee’s practical and theoretical concepts and contribute to better job performances, which in turn lead to better productivity and organizational performances. The authors also argue that a national certification system alone could greatly enhance worker’s TQM skills.
Johnson, Squires, and Whitney (2002: 1-12) aver that, “Voluntary professional certification programs provide external competency validation, giving employers a mechanism to identify individuals who have met certain predetermined standards and employees and prospective employees (students) a means to distinguish themselves in the job market”. Elsewhere in their article, the authors also observe, “One of the important benefits of certification programs is the perception that holders of the certification have demonstrated certain levels of competency”. Certification is also an integral part of continuing professional education (CPE) and human resources development (HRD). Both CPE and HRD commonly attempt to enhance the work performances of an employee through the adoption of strategic interventions. In order to assess and compare the work abilities of individual employees, management can effectively use the measure of certification as a yardstick of work performances. In this respect, certification serves as a tool for standardization in the realm of human resources. CPE also helps professionals provide higher quality service to clients by improving their knowledge, competence, or performance” (Cervero, 1989: 518) and also plays the important role of certifying professional knowledge. Queeney (2000) has identified “three components of competent professional practice which are: knowledge of a body of information, use of that knowledge in a skill, and performance that applies the knowledge and skill within the context of practice”. Individuals or employees “take part in CPE to learn the changing knowledge in their professions” (Knox, 1993), and “certification publicly acknowledges this learning” (Sleezer, Conti, and, Nolan, 2004: 22). The authors (22) also aver that, “Certification acknowledges and communicates that the individual met the organization’s established learning standards and, as such, serves to maintain the credibility of the profession. Furthermore, professions maintain and raise their standards, which benefits society”. Elsewhere, they also opine, “CPE outcomes focus on helping professionals acquire knowledge, internalize it, and use it to reflect on their experiences” (28). And, also that, “CPE certification reflects judgments of quality. Certification can assess individual learning and a CPE program’s contribution to that learning. It can also reflect on the entire profession because it communicates the profession’s required standards for learning” (29).
A survey of nursing literature adds a vital component to this paper as regards the value and outcomes that members of the profession generally see in certification programs. Thus, as per the ABNS (2005), “Certification reflects achievement beyond a basic level of knowledge and requires continued learning and skill development to maintain the certification credential”. Authors Eisemon and Cline (2006) mention some recent research on certification in the nursing profession. They state that 51 percent of those nurses who are certified are reported to possess greater confidence levels, around 35 percent have better decision making capability, and some 28 percent can effectively detect clinical complications. Again, the study reported that, 23 percent of certified nurses surveyed could better communicate and collaborate amongst themselves, whereas, only a few cases (6 percent) of errors occurred (Cary, 2001: 44-52). Another study again was quoted by the authors, in which it was noted that the average annual income of certified nurses was almost $ 10,000 higher than that of a non-certified nurse (Robinson and Mee, 2004: 36-39).
What is the purpose then of this certification in nursing in particular? In this regard, we find that the CBGNA Certification Handbook (www.cbgna.org) comprehensively outlines the purpose of nursing as one that “demonstrates accountability to the general public, enhances quality of patient care, helps to recognize professional nurses who have met an accepted level of experience and demonstrated a standard of knowledge specific to Gastroenterology and endoscopy nursing practice, helps promote personal satisfaction, and also provides employers a means to recognize professionals who have met a standard of achievement”.
Conclusion
What is true in nursing or any other field is true of all fields in management also. Thus, certification is required of employees in various organizations. The employee certifications enhance their employability by inculcating more updated skills in them and also ensure that management can compare individual work performances on the basis of a common yardstick. The benefits are as diverse as the field of management itself. For instance, effective customer management may require the use of qualified and certified customer relationship managers who can contribute to a qualitative customer service experience and hence enhance organizational value and profitability by way of improved customer retention and greater repeat buying of a company products or services. A manufacturing unit on the other hand could require its workers to be certified technically or may require them to undergo a quality management certification like Six Sigma, TQM, etc. An accountant may be required to get additional certifications in his profession so that he can better contribute to the quality of management of his employer organization. Finance professionals likewise could also improve their credentials by obtaining up-to date certification in his chosen field or sub-field. In every such case, company management only hopes to improve on employee skills and work performances so that their productivity is enhanced, which in turn also reigns in costs, and ultimately contributes to organizational value and profitability through significant value additions. Such value additions whether in product or personnel abilities essentially happens through quality improvement rendered possible through adoption of additional certification of the employee, product or organization.
Just as certifications add to quality of the organization, an important aspect is that they also add to the standardization process which makes it easier to grade employee skills, compare individual performances, and rationalize worker pay scales and these in turn improve every aspect of quality of management. No wonder that recent times have seen more and more employees at all levels and in every stream opting for certifications. However, while certifications may contribute to the overall quality of an organization, individual skills need to be developed over time and are gained through experience. And in this backdrop, newer concepts of developing human resources have originated. One of the latest such is that of Learning Organization (LO) where learning is conceived to be an ongoing process for mutually benefiting the employee and the organization. No doubt quality is improved, but in contrast to certification as a one-off process, the concept of LO envisages a continuous and proactive learning process. However, till alternative mechanisms may be developed, certification appears to be the one and only yardstick to judge an employee’s skill-sets and also a measure of the individual contribution of the employee towards improving the quality of organization and its management.
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